Fantasy. That’s the word Allie Lesko, artist and junior at Highland Park High School, chooses to describe her artwork. Allie’s inspiration stems from the fantasy genre, including scenes from books, TV shows, and movies such as The Hobbit, The Last Of Us, The Night Circus, and Game of Thrones.
Allie started her art journey during lockdown, and with a lot of time on her hands, she began to care more about art classes and had a desire to get better. Allie utilized YouTube as a teaching tool and began drawing still life, slowly working her way up to drawing from television and book scenes. While her medium of choice is watercolor, Allie aspires to extend her creative practice by experimenting with different materials. She has begun exploring sculpture, and some of her latest projects include dragons made from skewers, tin foil, and clay which are becoming a more prominent part of her art journey.
Along with a desire to work in textiles and take up sewing, Allie is an incredible self-motivated artist, a prime example that natural talent is nothing compared to the dedication with which one pursues a skill. Art has become Allie’s main focus and hobby, both as a way to express her love of fantasy and to soothe anxieties. While mostly self-taught, Allie is taking advantage of all the opportunities HPHS is willing to offer, including taking a drawing and painting class freshman year and partaking in Teen Arts NJ’s Arts High program since eighth grade, which she intends to continue through the rest of high school.
Allie is excited to improve her efficiency with drawing and hopes to always have art in her life, as a serious profession or not, and encourages other creative types to do the same. Her advice for budding artists follows, “The advice I would give is to make art every day. And it doesn't have to be good, or a big project, and not every piece you make is going to be good, and that’s okay.”